


The Exodians

by abDraconis1381



Category: Mass Effect, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Biotic!Stiles, Canon compliant for Mass Effect, F/F, F/M, M/M, Other ships will be present but not really shown, Slow burn romances, Teen Wolf in Mass Effect Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-05
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2018-01-11 07:04:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1170111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abDraconis1381/pseuds/abDraconis1381
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teen Wolf/Mass Effect crossover. When Earth discovered the existence of the supernatural, they were labeled as "sub-human" and herded into walled cities, out of view of the galactic community. They eventually lead a mass exodus off of Earth and to a planet all their own, away from the influence of the Alliance.</p>
<p>Stiles is one of these "Exodians," marked for his exceptional biotic ability. When he is approached by Commander Shepard to help in his fight against the Collectors, he finds himself caught between wanting to help his people fighting a war with the Alliance, and seeing the bigger picture of the Reaper invasion that is looming over their heads. </p>
<p>Mass Effect 2 novelization merged with Teen Wolf crossover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Exodians

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be an ambitious undertaking for me. I have decided to post this new crossover as I write it, so it is very much a work in-progress. If I ever get to a point where I can regulate the update schedule, I will let people know. 
> 
> The ships mentioned in the tags will show up, but they are not going to be the biggest part of the plot. Think Mass Effect romance stories and how they come into play but they are never the sole focus. 
> 
> I decided to steal a couple names from the Star Ocean series just for ease of use and because I like them. So the planet Expel and Nede belong to that series. Everything is still based in Mass Effect lore as much as I could keep it there. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys!

This was his punishment, Stiles thought, for declaring he was bored. It was never a good idea to let the universe know you had a little extra room in your life for some excitement, because the universe would always be all too willing to comply and throw a couple of shit storms your way. The problem with the universe was that it had no concept of scale. What Stiles had meant was that he wanted some romance, or a new movie to see, or for his friends to all come back from being at war with the Alliance. That last one was what he really wanted. It had been over a year since Scott, Allison, Isaac, Derek, Boyd, and Erica had enlisted to fight for their new world’s independence from the Alliance. Stiles would have gone, he would gladly be fighting alongside his friends, but his dad had convinced Stiles not to go when his biotics were still so volatile. A year later and they were fine, but his dad still found little reasons for Stiles to reconsider going. And Stiles always wound up agreeing with his dad and holding his tongue on the matter, promising himself he would be firm the next time he brought it up. 

It was almost funny how he probably would have been safer fighting a mostly cold war with his friends than he was just visiting the Citadel. Because this was Stiles, and apparently a simple shopping trip had to end up in him being chased by Eclipse mercenaries through the wards. Stiles had specifically gone to the Citadel to avoid that exact kind of situation. His dad had begged him to go to the Citadel to get what he needed, instead of Omega. There would be less chance of running into mercenary groups, his dad had reasoned. And Stiles had conceded that he was right to be worried about that. There were some less than honorable officers in the Alliance military that had put a standing bounty out to any interested mercenaries who would bring in Exodians alive. The Citadel was supposed to be a safe place from them and the Alliance, after the Council officially recognized the people of Expel as a sovereign planet and awarded them an embassy on the Citadel, much to the fury of the Alliance. 

“Get him, you idiots! And remember, we need him alive.” The Asari commando who was running things could be heard from behind her troops. Wanting him alive pretty much solidified for Stiles that this was an Alliance bounty. Stiles had tried getting to C-Sec, but found any path there to be blocked by eclipse. There was also a suspicious lack of C-Sec patrols, which left Stiles scrambling to get away. He didn’t have many options left. Trying to lose someone on a space station wasn’t something he was particularly practiced at. Throw him down into a nice forest full of werewolves and he was good to go. Tight corridors and elevator shafts weren’t really his thing. 

He turned down another hallway that, unfortunately, led further down into the ward. Those were the only ways that weren’t blocked in by mercs waiting to catch him. If he could just catch his breath for a minute…

“Okay, it’s now or never,” Stiles said to himself. He steadied his breath and focused. The mercs were just rounding the corner when he threw all of his power into a singularity. It caught just in front of the doorway and the first group of mercs chasing after him got caught in the vortex. It reached capacity shortly after and the next few troops were able to pass by, ducking under their helplessly floating allies. Stiles wasted no time in firing up a warp, tossing it directly to the center of his singularity. It was a direct hit, causing a massive explosion that was stronger than he had been expecting. He could feel everything shake in the wake of the explosion, and he wondered if he may have overdone it. Believing he had to have taken at least a few of his pursuers out, he ran away in the confusion, descending further into the ward.

Unfortunately for Stiles, Eclipse had been running him into a corner, which meant he didn’t have long. He found the next section of the ward abandoned, sure that the commotion scared everyone else away. In a split decision to avoid the troops that were no doubt beginning to catch up, Stiles ran for the empty room across from his current spot, noting it as a possible storage room for one of the abandoned storefronts. He ran in and began hacking the system with his omni-tool to lock the door. He then grabbed some boxes and started stacking them up against the door, for all the good it would do him when his pursuers would break through. Eclipse employed plenty of engineers; it wouldn’t take a lot for them to unlock a simple door to a storage room. All he could do from there was put a barrier up around the door and hope he could be rescued in time. If there had been enough of a commotion to scare all of the civilians away, C-Sec had to be coming, Stiles figured. 

Every attempt to contact someone on his omni-tool failed. Still, he had to try.

“Hello? Can anyone hear me? I’m being chased by Eclipse mercenaries. I am holed up in a storage room down on the lower level of the Zakera Ward markets. I don’t have a lot of time left. Can anyone hear me?” The only response he got in return was static. He assumed that Eclipse was jamming his communications somehow, but he still couldn’t believe that in his entire time trying to get away, he hadn’t encountered a single C-Sec officer. His chances of being saved looked grimmer by the second. 

The footfalls of the mercs were getting louder, and they were moving right for him. He knows they didn’t see him go into this exact spot, but there was no way they wouldn’t figure out his hiding place in all of two seconds. Stiles held his breath, and readied himself. If they were going to take him, he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Instead of wasting his energy on a barrier, Stiles began going over every biotic ability he knew and how to use them to do the most damage. He could even throw out a couple of attacks from his omni-tool if he needed to. He wasn’t going to win, probably wasn’t even going to survive, but he would take down as many of those assholes as he could. 

He saw the door unlock, the console shifting from its protective red to a traitorous green, and braced himself. However, before the door opened, Stiles heard the other room break out into gunfire. At first he thought that it was being directed at him, the start of a wall of bullets to stop Stiles in his tracks before he could do any damage. When the doors still didn’t open and the firing continued, he felt a bubble of hope rise in his chest. Maybe the cavalry had arrived after all. 

Whoever had come along, they were putting up quite the fight. Stiles could hear a lot of dying gasps coming from outside. He hoped the ones dying were the mercs and not his would be saviors. 

“You fools! They’re just three humans. How are you letting them get the best of you?” The Asari leader could clearly be heard by Stiles, leading him to believe she was just outside the door. What she said troubled Stiles; three humans weren’t exactly who he would have thought of as his saviors. He supposed they could have been Exodians, but that seemed entirely unlikely. He might just be heading out of the frying pan and into the bowels of hell itself.

After all things were said and done, the fight wasn’t very long. These guys were professionals and the Asari didn’t stand a chance without her small army to back her up. If Stiles was sure he was going to die to a bunch of Eclipse mercs, he knew he wouldn’t last against these three for sure. The door opened and Stiles threw up a barrier around himself, ready to put his going out with a bang strategy to the test. 

**********

*Several hours earlier…*

“Commander, the Illusive Man would like to speak with you in the conference room.” David Shepard groaned at the prospect of having to talk to his new “boss” again so soon. He thanked Chambers for the message and walked back to the conference room, stopping to check in with Mordin on the way to see if he was having any success with getting them past the collector swarms yet. 

“Will have something soon, Shepard. Have some faith. Not first time at the rodeo, as the old human saying goes,” Mordin said with the kind of condescending amusement someone would speak to a child with. Shepard decided not to be insulted by it. 

“It’s not for a lack of faith, doc. I just want to be sure you have everything you need.” 

“Of course. Lab well stocked. Cerberus very generous when it comes to scientific needs. Also, EDI very helpful. Will let you know if something comes up.” Shepard nodded and headed into the conference room to initiate the call to the Illusive Man. He stepped onto the newly lowered holo-pad and took in the familiar sight of the Illusive Man, silhouetted by the massive star his office apparently looked out into. The word “ostentatious” came to mind, but he kept it to himself. He was trying to be somewhat grateful to the Cerberus leader who brought him back to life, even if he didn’t trust the guy as far as he could throw him. 

“Shepard,” he said, getting right to business as usual. “I know I said I would let you run things on this operation, but this is a time sensitive matter that I would like you to attend to.” He clicked a few buttons on his console and something came across on Shepard’s omni-tool. 

“A new dossier?” 

“Yes, this one for a very powerful human biotic. It would be a huge boon to have him on your team.”

“I thought that was why we went through the trouble to get Jack released from that Blue Suns prison.” The Illusive Man took a drag off of his cigarette before answering.

“Jack is a powerful biotic, just as you are in your own way. But this boy is different. For starters, his abilities are natural, like that of an Asari. All reports we have on him say that he was able to teach himself how to use his powers with relative ease, forgoing the usual neural control training that I’m sure you’re familiar with. He never had to be outfitted with an implant either, which makes him a scientific marvel. There are many people who would love to crack his head open and take a look inside, so to speak.”

“That is impressive. Okay, you have my attention.”

“I thought that might interest you. Combine all that with his impressive arsenal of skills, and he becomes an extraordinarily valuable asset indeed.”

“If he’s that powerful, wouldn’t he be with the Alliance? I feel like I should have heard about him before now.”

“That’s the catch, Shepard. Our new friend is an Exodian.” The name struck familiarity in Shepard’s mind. The Exodians were once citizens of Earth who were found to be what the Alliance called “sub-human.” The people of Earth didn’t take the news of the existence of witches, werewolves, and general fairy tale creatures well. The fact that humanity was trying to cement a place in the galactic community only served to exacerbate the situation. People deemed sub-human by the Alliance were forbidden from leaving Earth or allowing the galactic community to learn of their existence. It was marketed as a way to protect them from the ire of a suspicious alien culture, but the restrictions on their freedoms kept coming. Soon, sub-humans couldn’t even leave the confines of specified cities without being detained. Those who didn’t comply were stripped of all citizenship rights and were submitted for scientific testing against their wills. Even biotics started being corralled in with the sub-humans if they didn’t agree to enlist in the Alliance Military. Shepard would have been one of them if he hadn’t agreed to life as a soldier. 

Eventually, the sub-humans had suffered enough and decided that Earth wasn’t their home anymore. They began a mass exodus to an empty planet over the edges of Alliance space. Nearly two thirds of the newly christened Exodians had made it off of Earth and to the planet Expel before Earth’s government noticed what they were doing. In the end, the Exodians made it off of Earth for the most part and gained recognition by the Council as their own world, separate from the Systems Alliance. The two groups have been at war ever since, with the Alliance refusing to see the people of Expel as anything more than an unauthorized colony on Alliance territory. Despite being such a new governmental power, Expel was succeeding as a nation and were able to match the Alliance almost blow for blow.

“Why didn’t you give me this dossier from the start if he’s so important to you?” Shepard asked, curious about the potential Exodian squad member. 

“Honestly, I didn’t think we would get the chance to recruit him. It was only a fluke that he left the safety of Expel and one of my informants mentioned seeing him on the Citadel. I wasn’t going to have you waste time and resources trying to find a way to get to Expel. We’re already tempting fate by trying to find a way through the Omega-4 relay.” It made sense, Expel was nearly impossible to get to without an Exodian acting as a guide. 

The fact that Expel was difficult to navigate to was how they were able to remain just out of reach of the Alliance. The planet was located in a star system well beyond the relay of its cluster. Just looking at star charts of the cluster, it looked like a straight shot to the Nede star, where Expel was located. When the Alliance tried to send some ships out to collect the Exodians, they wound up getting caught in pockets of space that held onto unsuspecting ships, requiring far more fuel than anticipated to get through. Numerous ships became stranded with no way to refuel halfway between star systems. By the time the Alliance got around to send a ship out with enough fuel reserves to make it to the Nede system, the Exodians were fully prepared with a small fleet of their own and enough planet-side cannons that the single Alliance ship was outnumbered before it had a chance. Without the fuel to make a getaway, the Exodians took their first war prisoners and solidified their defensible position. To that day, only the Exodians knew the secrets of safe travel to and from their new home. 

“So you want me to go to the Citadel and pick him up. Worried he won’t be there long?”

“Yes, since he’s going to be attacked by Eclipse mercenaries. They’re getting ready to pin him down as we speak. Luckily you’re already so close. If he is captured, he will be turned over to the Alliance for a rather sizable bounty. You can’t let that exchange happen, Shepard.”

“Yes, since he’s going to be attacked by Eclipse mercenaries. They’re getting ready to pin him down as we speak. Luckily you’re already so close. If he is captured, he will be turned over to the Alliance for a rather sizable bounty. You can’t let that exchange happen, Shepard.”

“Unfortunately, as you saw on your first trip to the Citadel to see the Council, there is now a rather large human presence in C-Sec. A lot of those humans would gladly look the other way to let an Exodian get caught by a mercenary group. There are already plans in place to pull all officers out of the ward he will be in just as Eclipse begins their operation.”

“Alright, I get it. This is priority one right now. Do you know where they’re planning to strike?”

“I’ve already taken the liberty of forwarding this information on to Ms. Lawson.” The Illusive Man took another dreg off his cigarette and began disconnecting Shepard. “Good luck, Shepard. I have every confidence in your abilities.” With that, the conference room came back into full view and Shepard started out for the armory. 

“Were you listening, Joker?”

“Sure was, Commander,” Joker said over the intercom. “We’re already on our way to the Citadel”

“Good. I’m taking Miranda and Kasumi down with me. Have them meet me in the armory.”

**********

In record time, the Normandy was docked on the Citadel and Shepard, along with Miranda and Kasumi, were en route to their target. Shepard took the wheel of the car they had ordered to get them to the ward faster. 

“Miranda, what can you tell me about this Exodian we’re after?” Shepard asked. She pulled up some information on her datapad and quickly skimmed it before answering.

“His name is Stiles Stilinski, although I believe that’s a nickname. He grew up in Beacon Hills, California before being moved to the Nevada sub-human city after he refused serving in the Alliance military. He and his father were a part of the last wave of the exodus. Beyond that, we don’t have any records of what happened to him after he began living on Expel. I know he isn’t a member of the Expelian military like his known associates are.”

“So he isn’t a soldier, just a very powerful and, likely, a very scared biotic.”

“Essentially,” she said. “I can’t say for sure what, if any combat training he has though. That means he could either succumb to Eclipse very quickly or he could be able to hold his own for a while.”

“Essentially,” she said. “I can’t say for sure what, if any combat training he has though. That means he could either succumb to Eclipse very quickly or he could be able to hold his own for a while.”

“Affirmative,” Miranda confirmed.

“Got it, Shepard,” said Kasumi. 

Shepard touched the car down and drew his squad into the ward. There were signs of a recent commotion, a few dead civilians littering the square. There was a vent panel taken out of the wall, leading up into a maintenance catwalk. Shepard headed up, Miranda and Kasumi following shortly behind. They didn’t have to travel long before they found some Eclipse troops overlooking the next level of the market, waiting for their command to strike

“Quiet!” said Shepard. He signaled Miranda and Kasumi to take cover behind some conveniently placed crates. “Kasumi, take them out. Don’t give them a chance to call for backup.”

“Roger! Time to have some fun.” Kasumi disappeared behind her cloak in a flash. Shepard watched as she silently appeared behind the two mercs, taking one out in a swift move and shooting the other in the face before they had a chance to get a word out to their squad. Shepard moved in, taking in the scene the two had been watching before their attack. 

“See if you can patch us in to their communications,” he asked of his squad in general, catching sight of their target down through an opening in the catwalk they were situated on. Shepard was struck by how young this Stiles kid actually looked. The dossier that the Illusive Man had given Shepard put him at about twenty. He was a kid Shepard wouldn’t have normally looked at twice; although, he knew better than anyone that when it came to biotic prowess, looks could be deceiving. 

“Delta team, target is in range and C-Sec is out of the way. Initiate capture.” A female voice came over Shepard’s communication line, signaling that they had successfully been patched in.

“That came for these two, Shep. They were going to be the first strike,” said Kasumi.

“Then we have a few seconds before they realize what happened and switch to plan B. Get ready.” Shepard took out his pistol and lined up a shot close to Stiles’s feet between him and where he knew Eclipse had to be getting ready to emerge from. 

“What are you doing?” Miranda asked.

“Getting him moving so he can get a head start. When Eclipse starts chasing him, we jump down and flank them, hopefully drawing them off.” 

“Delta team, do you read me? Begin the operation!” With that, Shepard fired his shot, startling Stiles and getting his attention. He immediately began backing away from Shepard’s Shot and looked for the source. Shepard fired twice more to get him moving.

“Target is spooked, begin pursuit! Who fired that damn shot?” Stiles saw the emerging Eclipse and took off at a run.

“Get ready!” Shepard said. Eclipse mercs ran down below them in pursuit of Stiles. When they passed by them, Shepard led the way down into the ward. “Open fire!” They began a practiced routine of picking off the troops. Miranda focused on barriers while Kasumi took care of any shields. When they were worn down enough, Shepard let loose his biotic charge to take one down, leaving him close enough to fire his shotgun straight into the adjacent merc. Barrier close to failing from the shots of the rest of the group, he dove under the nearest cover to let it regenerate. 

With all of their attention focused on him, Miranda and Kasumi were able to get some good shots in. In the exact second they turned around to fire on his squad, Shepard charged in once again, knocking one merc down long enough to finish her with another shotgun blast. Just as an Asari turned her gun on Shepard, Miranda hit her square in the head. The last remaining enemy unit, a Salarian, never saw Kasumi sneak behind him as he fell by her hand. 

“All clear,” said Miranda. 

“Who the hell is attacking us?” the Eclipse leader chimed in over the hacked communication signal. “Divert some of our forces back to take care of them. The kid is unarmed. We shouldn’t need much to take him down. Just watch his biotics.” 

“Looks like they took the bait,” Kasumi said. 

“Now we just need to catch up to Stiles,” Shepard said. “Don’t waste time. Make your shots count and keep moving.” Shepard led his squad forward noticing a lack of C-Sec patrols, just as the Illusive Man had said there would be. They entered an abandoned plaza just as a squad of Eclipse mercs came charging in through the far doors that led further into the ward.

“Isn’t it funny how we always seem to enter rooms at the same time as our enemies? I mean, we never run into them in the hallway.” Kasumi said.

Shepard ducked behind an abandoned kiosk just as a missile zipped past his head. “Not the time, Kasumi!” 

“I was just pointing out a happy pattern to our daily routine.” Kasumi threw her arm out to overload a shield with her omni-tool before ducking back down to switch weapons. 

In the chaos of charging another group of mercs, Shepard could hear the Eclipse leader come over the radio again. “Get him, you idiots! And remember, we need him alive.” 

“They haven’t caught him yet.” Miranda called out.

“Yeah, but how much longer can he last unarmed?” Kasumi asked. 

“Keep going!” Shepard switched to his Carnifax pistol and loaded a clip into the last standing merc. “Kasumi, see if there are any thermal clips lying around and catch up with us in the next room.” He moved forward with Miranda close behind while Kasumi did a quick survey of the battlefield to collect any loose ammo. The next room was clear of enemies, the only path that wasn’t barred in some way leading deeper into the bowels of the ward. 

“They’re trying to pin him down, Shepard. He won’t have much room left to run,” Miranda said. 

“I know, let’s get…”

A blast shook the ground, almost throwing Shepard and Miranda off balance. The sound of pained screams could be heard coming from their destination.

“What was that?” Kasumi asked, coming in from the other room with a couple handfuls of thermal clips. She began passing them amongst the three of them. 

“I don’t know,” said Shepard. “Let’s go take a look.” The entered the stairwell cautiously. When they rounded the corner into the adjacent hallway, they saw the devastation of the recent explosion. There were at least six bodies left in the wake of whatever it was that went off. The damage spread out from the epicenter of the blast and traveled down the hall. Most of the bodies were mangled and torn, scattered in pieces. Where the blast didn’t blacken the floor and walls, blood did. One of the bodies, or what was left of it, was partially melded to the floor.

“Anybody else smell that?” Kasumi asked.

“Eezo.” Shepard said, recognizing the scent as soon as Kasumi pointed it out. 

“This was from a biotic explosion?” Miranda said, shock evident in her voice. “I’ve never seen one this violent before.”

“Let’s go,” Shepard said. “They can’t be that much farther.” They reached the end of the hall and went down a final set of stairs. The room at the bottom was filled with what was left of the Eclipse mercs. The one in charge, an Asari commando Shepard recognized as the owner of the voice barking orders over their communicators, was driving them towards a door on the opposite side of the stairwell he and his squad just came out of. 

“In there, it’s the only place he had to run. Make the little shit suffer as much as you can without killing him. He’s lucky he’s worth so much alive.” One of the engineers immediately got to work unlocking the door. He was able to unlock the door but before anyone could open it, Shepard and his squad opened fire, drawing all attention away from Stiles’s hiding place. Like the majority of the mercs before, they generally fell quickly. A few well-placed shots and soon, the Asari leader was running low on troops.

“You fools! They’re just three humans. How are you letting them get the best of you?” 

“She’s quite the motivator, isn’t she?” Kasumi said as she took out a merc who had tried to flank Shepard. 

“Not everyone has the gift,” Shepard said, launching into a charge directly into the Asari. It was enough to break down her armor, leaving Shepard an open shot to finish her for good. 

“All clear, Shepard. Let’s get the boy and get out of here. There might still be some stragglers.” Shepard had to agree with Miranda and went for the door Eclipse had unlocked for him. There were boxes piled up in the doorway that Stiles had likely put up to buy some precious few seconds. In that case, Shepard thought he might want to err on the side of caution, given the image of the mercenaries melted into the floor just upstairs.

“Stiles?” he called out to the room. “I’m here to help you. The mercenaries are gone. I’m coming in.” Shepard pushed some of the boxes forward and squeezed past them the rest of the way into the small storage room. Stiles was back against the wall, looking like a caged animal ready to strike. He had a barrier held up around him, and he was eyeing Shepard suspiciously. 

“Who are you and why do you know my name?” he asked. “I haven’t had a lot of luck with people already knowing who I am today.” 

“My name is Commander David Shepard, and I came to help you.” He snorted at Shepard’s explanation, rolling his eyes before speaking.

“Okay, let’s break this down one step at a time, shall we? First,” he said, ticking his fingers off in a count while still holding his barrier strong. “You’re Commander Shepard? Dude, if you’re going to impersonate a famous guy, try picking someone who’s alive. Everyone in the galaxy knows Shepard died two years ago. Second, do you really want me to believe that you just happened to find out that I was being chased down by crazy Eclipse mercenaries and you just decided to come rescue me with no ulterior motives? None at all? Not even a little bit?” He looked at Shepard expectantly, a smug look on his face, despite his current circumstance.

The kid had nerve, Shepard gave him that much. To mouth off to someone he didn’t know who had him cornered, that sounded right up Shepard’s alley. 

“Well, uh,” and in that moment he knew how annoying it was to be on the other side. 

“Very eloquent, Shepard.” Kasumi said. “I suppose he isn’t exactly wrong, is he?” 

“I like her,” Stiles said. “So, Shepard,” he said, putting unnecessary emphasis on his name. “What do you really want from me?” 

“Ever hear of the collectors?” he asked, deciding the direct approach seemed to work on Stiles the best. 

“Vaguely?” he said, waiting for Shepard to continue. When he didn’t right away, Stiles broke right back into his mocking tone that he apparently seemed so fond of. “So, space boogie men, that is seriously the best you have? I am appalled. I am worth way more than a cheap space boogie man story.” 

“Shepard,” Miranda said, cutting into the conversation before Shepard could retort. “There were some stragglers. They’re wondering what happened and they’re coming to check. We really should get back to the Normandy and finish this discussion there.” She finished with a pointed look at Stiles. It seemed to affect him, as he took on a more serious look and seriously considered his options.

“Am I going to regret going with you?” He asked Shepard.

“Probably.” He regarded Shepard before lowering his barrier at last. Shepard gave him his space, not wanting to rush him while he was still so wary. Still, they were in kind of a hurry. “We’ll take you to our ship and we can talk about our next step there.”

“Okay, thanks. I guess it’s better to take my chances with you than face more mercenaries. I’ve had my fill anyway.” He stuck his hand out to Shepard. “No hard feelings for before?” Shepard reached out to take the offered hand, glad to at least get Stiles off the Citadel and onto the safety of the Normandy.

And then Shepard was smacked in the face with a Mako. At least that was how he would remember it feeling. One second he was reaching out for Stiles’s hand and the next he found himself staring up at an ad for Krogan with erectile dysfunction. His brain started catching up before his body did, leaving him unable to make himself move despite trying desperately to get to his feet. He was still pulling himself together when Miranda came to help him up.

“Shepard, are you injured?” she asked. By then he had reclaimed enough of his senses to shake his head, which brought on another wave of disorientation.

“What happened?” he ground out. 

“He ran. He hit you dead on with some kind of shockwave. We’re lucky he didn’t kill you. Kasumi and I got pushed aside as well but we didn’t get hit nearly as hard.” 

“Did you see where he went?” He asked, urgency drawing him back onto his feet.

“He went back up out of the ward,” Kasumi said. “But he could be anywhere by now, Shep. There’s a taxi station right up there.” Shepard grimaced, weighing their options before deciding to call in some extra help.

“Shepard to Normandy, come in. We took care of Eclipse but our new friend pulled a disappearing act. I want the entire squad down here pronto to help us comb the Citadel. He might still be in danger.”

“They’re on their way, Commander,” came Joker’s voice over the intercom. 

“Do we really want to chase him down again?” Kasumi asked. “It doesn’t look like he’s going to believe us, much less want to help.”

“He was cornered and scared, I’m not going to hold it against him,” Shepard said. “He might still be in danger, and we did say we were here to help him. I’m going to keep that promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just FYI, I wouldn't be opposed to having a beta if anyone i interested. 
> 
> And for possible updates on my writing, you can feel free to follow me on tumblr, where my url is alphabanshee.


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